Nix

Install OpenClaw declaratively with nix-openclaw — a batteries-included Home Manager module.

What you get

• Gateway + macOS app + tools (whisper, spotify, cameras) -- all pinned
• Launchd service that survives reboots
• Plugin system with declarative config
• Instant rollback:
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  home-manager switch --rollback

Quick start

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```bash}
mkdir -p ~/code/openclaw-local
# Copy templates/agent-first/flake.nix from the nix-openclaw repo
```

See the nix-openclaw README for full module options and examples.

Nix-mode runtime behavior

When

You can also set it manually:

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export OPENCLAW_NIX_MODE=1

On macOS, the GUI app does not automatically inherit shell environment variables. Enable Nix mode via defaults instead:

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defaults write ai.openclaw.mac openclaw.nixMode -bool true

What changes in Nix mode

• Auto-install and self-mutation flows are disabled
• Missing dependencies surface Nix-specific remediation messages
• UI surfaces a read-only Nix mode banner

Config and state paths

OpenClaw reads JSON5 config from

Service PATH discovery

The launchd/systemd gateway service auto-discovers Nix-profile binaries so plugins and tools that shell out to

• When
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  NIX_PROFILES
  is set, every entry is added to the service PATH in right-to-left precedence (matches Nix shell precedence — rightmost wins).
• When
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  NIX_PROFILES
  is unset,
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  ~/.nix-profile/bin
  is added as a fallback.

This applies to both macOS launchd and Linux systemd service environments.

Related

• nix-openclaw -- full setup guide
• Wizard -- non-Nix CLI setup
• Docker -- containerized setup